He did not follow immediately. Instead, he waited for a moment, and only after confirming that Dragon Duke and his party showed no signs of turning back did he cautiously emerge from the bushes and slowly search along the water's edge.
He quietly activated Sagros's speed trait as well. His footsteps were light, making almost no sound, and he remained highly vigilant the entire time. At the first sign of any disturbance ahead, he could conceal himself again at any moment.
Up ahead, Dragon Duke seemed to be deliberately quickening his pace. The frequency of his cane striking the ground increased, while his gaze remained fixed on the bushes by the stream.
Suddenly, he stopped short and lowered his voice. "Careful, on the left!" At the same time, he raised the Dragon Staff in his hand and sent out a blade of light.
After sensing the energy fluctuations ahead, Chen Chu immediately halted and hid behind a thick bush, peering forward through gaps in the branches and leaves.
A green figure flashed through the bushes ahead and to the left, moving so fast it nearly left an afterimage. Then, a soul beast several times larger than an ordinary mantis leaped out of the undergrowth.
Its body was dark green, with golden patterns along the edges of its wings. Most eye-catching were its pair of sickle-like forelimbs, which gleamed with a cold metallic sheen. Two distinctive dragon horns rose from its head—it was exactly the Dragon Mantis Chen Chu had been searching for!
The Dragon Mantis's Soul Power fluctuations were extremely strong, at least four hundred years old.
The moment it appeared, it sensed the threat posed by Dragon Duke's group. Its forelimbs spread slightly as it made clicking sounds, as though warning them not to approach.
Meng Yiran's eyes lit up. She immediately activated her Soul Power, and the Snake Staff Martial Soul possessed her in an instant. Several blades of light shot forth toward the Dragon Mantis. "Watch this!"
The Dragon Mantis reacted incredibly quickly. With a beat of its wings, it shot into the air, evading the blades of light before diving down, its sharp forelimbs lunging straight at Meng Yiran's face.
"Careful!" Snake Matriarch barked. She flashed forward and stepped in front of Meng Yiran, Soul Power surging through her palm as the cane in her hand blocked the Dragon Mantis's attack.
With a dull bang, the young Dragon Mantis was sent flying backward. It landed on a branch, its wings trembling faintly. Clearly, Snake Matriarch's Soul Power had shaken it badly.
Dragon Duke stood nearby without immediately attacking. He merely watched the Dragon Mantis closely, as though considering something. "Yiran, leave these two little fellows alone. Don't fight it. We need to go. Old woman, take Yiran and leave first."
He spoke in a deep voice, his cane glowing faintly green. He was clearly ready to act at any moment.
Dragon Duke knew the Dragon Mantis well. He had been observing it just now to see whether it had reached adulthood. If it had not, its mother was likely nearby. If a ten-thousand-year Dragon Mantis appeared in this thicket, it would be difficult to deal with.
Hiding in the shadows, Chen Chu watched the scene and sighed inwardly. Dragon Duke's group truly worked together flawlessly. This four-hundred-year Dragon Mantis had no ability to fight back before them. He just did not know whether Dragon Duke would kill it.
He could not reveal himself yet. He would continue lurking and see if he could find an opportunity.
Just then, the Dragon Mantis seemed to sense danger. It suddenly beat its wings and flew toward where Chen Chu was hiding.
Chen Chu's heart jumped. Just as he was about to conceal himself again, he saw that the Dragon Mantis merely flew over his head and fled toward the distant forest.
"Trying to run?" Dragon Duke snorted. His Soul Power erupted, and his entire body instantly turned into an afterimage as he pursued the Dragon Mantis. Snake Matriarch immediately led Meng Yiran away in the opposite direction, and the figures soon vanished deep into the forest.
Only after they had gone far away did Chen Chu emerge from behind the bushes. Looking in the direction they had disappeared, he frowned slightly.
Dragon Duke's group probably would not kill that Dragon Mantis. If he caught up now, he might be able to find its mother through the young mantis. Then perhaps...
After pondering for a moment, he decided to follow and take a look. He might not necessarily encounter a Dragon Mantis suitable for him, but this was currently the most viable method. There was simply no trace of high-level soul beasts around the water.
He took a deep breath and activated his martial soul again, turning into a faint red shadow as he chased after the direction in which Dragon Duke's group had vanished.
Much of the mist in the forest had already dispersed. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, casting mottled patches of light across the ground.
Chen Chu's steps were light yet steady, his gaze vigilantly sweeping the surroundings as he remained ready for any danger that might appear.
After passing through a dense patch of bushes, fierce sounds of battle came from ahead. Chen Chu immediately slowed down, quietly approached, and hid behind a large tree. Peering ahead through gaps in the branches and leaves, he saw that the young Dragon Mantis was nowhere to be found. Dragon Duke was currently fighting a massive ten-thousand-year Dragon Mantis.
Both had suffered some injuries. The ten-thousand-year Dragon Mantis's wings were already covered in blood, yet it was not slow in the slightest. It continued fighting stubbornly, its forelimbs constantly swinging as it darted through the forest.
Dragon Duke held his cane and continuously unleashed green Soul Power attacks, every strike aimed directly at the Dragon Mantis's vital points.
"That's about enough." Dragon Duke spoke in a deep voice, suddenly pointing his cane forward. A dense beam of green Soul Power instantly shot toward the Dragon Mantis, successfully striking her forelimb and kicking up a cloud of dust.
By the time the Dragon Mantis reacted, Dragon Duke had already vanished.
Seeing this, Chen Chu was overjoyed. Dragon Duke truly had no interest in this thing. He merely wanted to drive her away.
Both sides had been injured, but Dragon Duke's injuries were light while the mantis's were severe. Chen Chu continued examining her forelimbs, and after estimating their approximate length, he was ecstatic.
"Good. Heaven truly favors me. Around Fifty Thousand Years—just right."
Originally, he had expected around forty thousand years. After all, every additional ten thousand years made a soul beast that much stronger. At forty thousand years, he should have been able to take it down through Sagros's superior suppression. But fifty thousand years or more was another matter. Fifty Thousand Years was a threshold; even an ordinary Soul Douluo might not be able to defeat one.
But now, that rotten old man Dragon Duke had actually beaten her into a severely wounded state. If this was not heaven helping him, what was?
With that thought, Chen Chu no longer hid. After confirming that Dragon Duke had left and no one else was nearby, he charged out.
"First Soul Skill: Divine Speed Assault!" Chen Chu shouted as he swung his fists—his twin claws after Martial Soul Possession—and lunged forward.
His first soul skill allowed him to instantly accelerate, charge forward, and slash. It also had a high chance of stunning the opponent for one to two seconds, offering tremendous advantages in seizing the initiative and disrupting the enemy's rhythm.
Sure enough, having just finished a battle, the Mantis King was preparing to return and recover from her injuries. She had not noticed Chen Chu hiding in the shadows at all. The moment she took off, his punches slammed her into the ground, kicking up waves of dust.
Seeing that the Mantis King had fully taken the effects of his soul skill, Chen Chu's lips curled upward. Then, the third soul ring on his body lit up. After a flash of deep purple light, several energy slashes carrying boundless sharpness had already reached the Mantis King's face.
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